Ask people in different parts of the country this question and you will get different answers. Ask people where I am from, and the most common answer will be “Because God prefers UNC.” Others will say it is a reflection of the ocean. But then why is the ocean blue? Because it is a reflection of the sky. Excuse me?

Well here is the truth as portrayed by an infographic created by designers at Visual.ly. This infographic is fairly scientific, and I will admit I do not completely understand it. I understand that wavelengths affect the color we see out of all the colors that are available, but the rest went over my head. I went to school to study history and not science.

Before producing this infographic, have your students discuss why the sky is blue. Have each student produce a short hypothesis, share it in small groups, and discuss the merit behind each. Then share this infographic and see how close students came to the truth.